Tax Bills May Increase 2% For Leesburg Property Owners

LEESBURG — Property owners will pay 2 percent more in taxes if a tentative millage approved 3 to 0 by the city commission Monday survives public hearings in September.

Commissioners David Connelly and Sanna Henderson were absent from Monday's commission meeting. Connelly was attending a funeral in Jacksonville, and Henderson is on vacation.

The tentative tax rate, set at 4.05, is up from this year's millage of 3.96.

A mill is $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of taxable property value. That means the owner of a $65,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $162 in taxes under the proposed millage. The same homeowner paid $158.40 this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

The city is required to submit a tentative millage to the county tax appraiser's office by Aug.1.

Commissioners Charlie Strickland and Bob Lovell both were reluctant to vote for the tentative rate.

Strickland said that because the county appraiser's office increased next year's tax roll by about 6 percent -- from $298 million to $316 million -- it would mean $16 million to $18 million more for the city. Strickland said he thought that could be enough to avoid raising taxes.

''You'll never get rid of it a tax increase,'' Strickland said. ''I've never heard of a tax going away or being lowered.''

Lovell agreed.

''I hate to ever vote for an increase in taxes if we don't need them,'' he said.

The two commissioners also disagreed with the state law that requires the tentative millage to be submitted before city officials have time to review

the city budget and to schedule public hearings.

Discussion of a proposed 6 percent increase in the general funds budget -- from $5.95 million to $6.33 million -- will be held during a workshop at 4 p.m. today at city hall. Public works and utilities budget workshops are scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, also at city hall.

City Finance Director Jim Shuster said the tentative millage is not enough to balance the budget, and that $251,000 needs to be appropriated from ''prior balances.''

He said the figure could be reduced by an expected $104,350 surplus from this year's budget, cutting the total deficit to $147,540.

Schuster said that traditionally, general fund departments underspend their budgets, which would make the fund balance acceptable.

Also on Monday, the commission approved participation in an interlocal gasoline tax distribution agreement with Lake County, even though the city stands to lose money.

The county is going to levy a 2-cents-a-gallon increase in the gasoline tax, currently set at 4 cents a gallon. Lake County League of Cities members have voted to base distribution of the tax on the population of each city instead of using transportation expenditures. The expenditures formula has been used in the past, but has been unfair to smaller cities, the league concluded.

City Manager Rex Taylor said Leesburg stands to receive 7.6 percent of the county's share of the tax by using the new system. The city otherwise would have received about 9 percent, he said.

Municipalities in the county will divide 69 percent of the tax. The state will get 31 percent.